Why work alone when you could have a partner?
by 0.0 NightRiders 0.0
Summary: Alex Rider has been kicked around and used by MI6, Because of his successes, he has now been burdened by a newly trained, inexperienced 16yearold MI6 partner. One who thinks he’s better than Alex in everything. HAITUIS - No more inspiration anymore /
1. Meet your new, obnoxious, snobby partner

**ツ****Alex Rider ****ツ**

_A more detailed summary:_

_Alex Rider has always been kicked around, used and blackmailed repeatedly by MI6. Now because of his success on all of his missions, MI6 has now decided to burden him with a newly trained, inexperienced 16-year-old partner, one whop thinks that he is better than Alex in everything because he is older. How will Alex handle this new obstacle? And when will his new partner realize that Alex is really more deadly, smart and cunning than he seems, and that he's just getting in the way?_

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Set between: **_Skeleton key and Angel Strike._

**Written and edited by: **_0.0 Nightriders 0.0 (Samantha Beaumont)_

**Inspired by: **_Anthony Horowitz himself and the other great authors here._

**Date written (Start Date)**_: Monday 17 December 2007 (Merry Christmas everyone)__

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_**Disclaimer:-** I have made this story completely my own and i apologise to anyone who thinks this story is exactly the same as another. I assure you that's just coincidence. After all, great minds think alike! _

**I have made Alex Rider a more sinister, lethal, cunning, deadly force, someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill another human or animal. Someone who won't take any sort of -"!&"- from anyone, who really is the best at everything, especially when it comes to the spy world. I apologise if the story is a little over the top, if you do thinks this please include it in your reviews aswell as your ideas and comments. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR**

**everyone!**

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PS. AFTER A WORRYING REVIEW, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO PUT THIS UP. 

**THIS CHAPTER IS THE ONLY CHAPTER IN THE ENTIRE STORY (i hope) THAT SEEMS TO BE A CARBON COPY OF AMATAI'S STORY SUB ZERO. I ASSURE YOU THIS IS PURELY COINCEDENCE THOUGH I DO NOT DENY READING THIS STORY, AND LOVING IT TO BITS. AMATAI IS AN AMAZING AUTHOR, AND I RECOMMEND YOU READING HER STORIES.**

**ONCE AGAIN. I DID NOT COPY SUB ZERO, THIS WAS PURELY MY IDEA AND THE NAMES WERE SURPRISING THE SAME. I EITHER HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MITCHEL, OR MATTHEW, MATTHEW SUITED MY CHARACTER BETTER BECAUSE OF HIS NATIONALITY.**

**THE SCENE IN THE COMBAT AREA WAS, I ADMIT, AN IDEA EXTRACTED AND MANIPUTLATED FROM SUB ZERO, AND I AM SORRY FOR OFFENDING THOSE WHO THINK THIS IS WRONG. WHAT BETTER WAY TO TEACH MATTHEW A LESSON THAN TO DO IT IN TRAINING?**

**THE AGES, WERE MY IDEA. AT FIRST I WANTED MATTHEW TO BE 18, BUT THAT DID NOT SUIT MY CHARACTER AT ALL AND HE WAS TOO OLD. IF HE WAS 18, ALEX WOULD HAVE TO BE 17, AND I DIDNT NOT LIKE THAT IDEA ONE BIT.**

**WARNING: ALEX IN THIS CHAPTER IS VERY OUT OF CHARACTER - THIS IS PUT UP BECAUSE A REVIEWER REQUESTED ME TOO**

**THANKS TOO: "VON" FOR HIS ENLIGHTENING REVIEW. I HOPE THIS SATISFIES YOUR MIND VON!**

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Chapter 1_

_Meet your new, older, obnoxious, ignorant, full of himself partner…_

It was 07:30 when Alex Rider walked into his school with a feeling that today would be a very bad day for him. He could just feel it in the air as he confidently strolled through the playground. Sure he had been away for a month or two, and yes he did have a very large, deep scar slashed down his right eye, as well as a tan he received on his last mission, but that didn't change who he was. Right?

Apparently not.

He strode towards his best friend Tom Harris and his bunch, and already he could see that the lot of them was staring in awe or in question. Arriving, he noted that most of them was really staring at his scar, the one he received at his third mission on Skeleton key, when he shattered the tank's glass, a stray piece when tip first down his face. Those are the scars of war you get when the government force you to go on missions you don't want, or work for them period. The rest of the group were just staring or muttering between them, shooting Alex some indecipherable looks his way.

He turned to Tom and he could already see that Tom too was staring, but not at his appearance, but at his clothes instead. Alex looked down towards his clothes and raised an eyebrow. He was wearing thick, Jet-black Wheelie shoes, with black laces. Above, he was wearing plain black, baggy cargo pants the slightly obscured his shoes. Alex had a black 4-studded row handy-man belt, and at the end was a large 8-claw buckle with a small circle, roughly 1cm in diameter, exactly at the center, where all of the claws met. His shirt was plain and semi-tight, tight enough to show the rippling muscles he had received during intense SAS training and martial arts, across his torso and abdomen, but loose enough to hide any weapons or gadgets, of choice, given to him by Smithers. Funnily enough, the t-shirt he was wearing was the only thing, aside from Alex's hair and skin, that wasn't black instead it was white. On top of the shirt, he wore a loose, black, baggy zip-up plain hoody, with two front pockets.

Looking towards his left arm, Alex new his watch must've looked particularly peculiar. It had a large surface area, but was also extremely flat. It had a small "Skylark" logo in dark grey Gothic writing at the top but that was really it. It had 8 buttons and a thick, elastic like chain that was used as a strap to hold the watch to his wrist. Oddly, the entire watch was Black, the chain and screen was tinted, and all alarms were automatically put on silent. Upon his back, he wore an elite, black duffle backpack that looked extremely light but at least large enough to hold a normal-sized parachute.

Alex chuckled to himself, earning a few glares from his "friends", and knew what he must've looked like, an Emo, or a Goth with no demonic symbols or make-up. In fact, he guessed that they actually half expected for him to jump out and say _'Rawr! Here I am to eat you!' _like a delusional psychopath, or, _'Oi you lot, got any drugs?'_ But he did have a very good reason for his unusual choice of clothing. One that he did not have to share to his mates, no matter what they think. His belt buckle was actually an extremely strong grappling hook that could hold 3 tons of weight, not including his own. It was activated 2 seconds after he pressed the small circle in the center of its claws. The studs on his belt were actually mini-proximity mines, or grenades, that activated 5 seconds after release from human contact. The belt itself was actually hollow, that concealed 3-inch shelled bullets for a mini laser attached sniper rifle that was at this present moment in time, was de-assembled, each part hidden within the fabric of his backpack. The bag was really, at a glance, a parachute that could not only hold one person, but three! And the handles, where really whips in disguise, used to saw through 2 inches of steel, but for the use of cover, it was also designed to have many hollow, hidden places where he could hide any weapons that couldn't be found even through a thorough search, as well as a normal bag, to contain books and normal, everyday items. To activate the parachute, all Alex had to do was tug hard twice on each strap that was on his shoulders, and as a safety lock, then twist the left strap 2 times.

Alex's large black wheelie shoes were literally a walking ammunition basket. The wheels were smoke and flash grenades put together in one, and at the back of his shoes, there was each a 6-inch long, 1 to 2 mm thick knife engorged onto the sole. The laces were an entirely different story. The left lace, when detached, was a cheese wire that could slice cleanly through most surfaces. The right lace, when removed, became a wire-lock-pick on one end and if twisted at the other, it became a mini flashlight and computer. Inside the shoes were each an acidic container that when he removed the soles and places on any inanimate surface, would melt through the surface like the zit cream he received on his mission to skeleton key. Inside Alex's hoody, were two, cloaked 12mm guns with ammunition. The rest of the bullets were in a chain-like position each crossing, in an X-like position, over on his torso. Just on his wrists, right underneath his hoody, there were two, metal sheathed, medium-sized paralyzing-poison-tipped-daggers on both on top and below. To protect his wrists, he had a 1mm thick, 2 inches long titanium cover, bided all around, protecting it from all sides, just at the edges, the metal slanted into his skin, giving the illusion that the metal was actually seared into he skin. Unfortunately, Alex was unable to remove this cover unless he used his watch's laser, but then he would be unable to fix it and wear it again, so he chose to keep it on. Underneath Alex's cargo pants was a 9-10 inch long, 2-3 mm thick knives strapped safely against his shins, and a silenced 9mm gun strapped against his right thigh, with it's ammunition wrapped around his left. And like any cop or spy, he had a 10mm gun strapped to his back, just in between his waistline where his shirt and trousers met, for easy and quick accessibility.

His watch was well, a normal watch. A normal watch when configured, became a high-powered blue laser that could slice though 4 inches of titanium, as well as a detachable bomb, and a code cracker that could bypass any security systems in the world that were under the voltage level of 9000v. And all of this was the work, of his good old friend, Smithers.

There was also an explainable reason behind Alex's choice of colour. One could never be too careful enough when it came to the spy world. The black would enable Alex to hide in the shadows during a quick getaway. The gadgets would allow him to protect himself when the time comes where no one could come to help and rescue. And the white t-shirt was useful because he could easily blend into the crowd and not look too much like a loner and to cover it up Alex had the hoody.

He looked dangerous and scary.

Intimidating yet wise.

He looked out of place and someone who had seen much more than he should have done during his time.

And that's exactly what Alex didn't what, but that was the price for being careful.

He looked up back at Tom, but before he could read his friends face, the school bell rang, resulting to Tom disappearing into the mob of students in their haste to get to, or to skip, class. Disappointed, Alex went with the flow, following the person in front of him and let his daily school routine take over his actions.

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4 hours later, Alex found himself in the cafeteria, sitting alone on his table as usual. On the plate in front of him, he had disgustingly nutritious food: Red meat, fruit, milk, yogurt and fish. Just as he began to eat, Tom plonked onto the seat opposite him, effectively disturbing the peace Alex had created for himself to avoid the crowd of staring students that surrounded him. 

"Tell me Alex," Tom said after slowly eyeing Alex's appearance as well as his food, "Since when have you been eating healthy food?" Not waiting for an answer Tom went on, "And dress in black? And become a Goth? And become tremendously FIT? And the biggest question of all, where the hell do you disappear off to all the time! We hardly see you at school anymore, let alone your house, we come over only to be sent back by Jack…." Fed up, Alex gave Tom, his best friend a disgusted look, filtered out his words and continued eating, effectively ignoring him. When he was certain that Tom had stopped pestering him, he looked back up again, to Tom who's face was that of pure disappointment. With one last breath Tom said, "And when did you become so different? When did you change?", and with that, he walked away shaking his head towards Alex's direction. Alex, in fact, didn't really care. He was fed up of people asking him over and over again the same questions, _'where have you been?' 'Are you ok?' 'Where did you get that scar?!' 'Why are you wearing black?' 'Are you a Goth now?'…_Blah, blah, blah. He had learned to just ignore those people, or just zone out when he's trapped, and when they're done, just walk away. He hated his spy life, the one he was forced to embrace with acceptance by MI6 blackmailing him, but he knew he could never be a normal boy ever again. Not without endangering his _friends_ around him.

He knew all about the rumors that they all spread around about him. As he walked down hallways, the sight of him made people turned around and start gossiping, or murmuring to each other. Some of the rumors they spread were actually pretty close to the truth, but he knew that they were guessing further than they would've liked. They thought that he did drugs, that's why he became a Goth. The thought that he became depressed with the death of his parents, that's why he came back to school after long periods of time all cut up and bruised. Lastly, some joked around that he was working for the government, killing people for fun and blowing up houses, with that, they would never know how close to the truth they were.

Alex blew the two strands of thick blond hair out of his right eye. He was actually appreciative of his hair, because it covered up his scar very efficiently. Looking over to his food, he saw that he had already finished it. With a large sigh, he rolled his eyes and stood up in one fluid move. With cat like movement, he sauntered toward the cafeteria tray-bin, feeling the eyes of many drilling holes into his back. Disposing of his tray, he retrieved his bag, hoisted it onto his shoulders and walked out, leaving the residents of the cafeteria, which he considered a temporary hell in school, aside from school itself, in awe.

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At the end of school, walking out of his school and towards his black, special edition 'Smithers' edition, mountain-racing bike, the one he received on his mission on Eagle Strike, Alex looked at his watch. It was 15:14. Swiftly removing the chain that held his bike to its prison-like bike shed, Alex hauled himself upon his bike and started to pedal heavily. It wasn't like he was late for anything, no, he just liked it when he could do things quick and easy, and for that he made a game for himself. Each time, at exactly 15:15, Jack, his housekeeper and long time friend, timed him how long it took for him to get home. So far, his record was 1 minute and 3 seconds. He rapidly raced down the hill, totally ignoring his brakes, acting like they weren't even there. He raced past all the cars, zooming so far ahead of them, the recipients inside would only see a flicker of a person, and then 'they' would be gone, leaving them wondering whether or not they had actually seen them, or if it was just a fragment of their imagination, or the trick of the wind. His hair was flying everywhere, pricking his eyes and tickling his face, and his unzipped hoody was whip lashing against his back, its zip scratching him at every chance it got. Alex felt like screaming out in joy. He could feel quite acutely adrenalin searing in his veins, his blood roaring through his ears, and his heart felt like it was going to tear apart the ribcage that imprisoned it. 

It was a good feeling.

When Alex arrived at his house, all irritation he had received from school shed like a second skin, he threw a rock at the hard, oak door, making a very loud _'BANG' _and proceeded to lock his bike up in the garage.

"Alex!"he heard Jack screech form the kitchen as he was removing he shoes to the shoe rack beside the garage door, "You better not have dented that door _again…" _Smirking to himself, Alex replied, after quickly checking the door just incase, "Nah! Of course not, no need to worry!" Obviously, Jack didn't believe this so as he was waltzing into the kitchen, he was confronted by a very amused yet irritated Jack.

"Now what have I told you about throwing those damn rocks at the door?" she snapped, but her jokey tone took out all the seriousness in it. "Do you know how much it took to repair the _last _one you made? Thirty pounds!" Smiling at the memory of Jack disheveled, when she found out the cost of repair form the woodworker, Alex replied in a casual tone, "Well I wouldn't have done it, if you didn't add 10 seconds to my _last_ time because I had to chain my bike! And you _supposedly_ didn't hear me yell _extremely _loudly, 'Jack I'm back!'" And leaving it at that, he smugly turned around and sat on the kitchen stool, waiting for Jacks lovely cooking and leaving her baffled for words. But as he sat down again, he turned and asked, "And anyway, what was my score this time?" Seeing Jack's face in irritation almost made him laugh out loud. "49 seconds" she murmured. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Alex said on purpose, purposely rubbing in her face that he beat his record _and_ won the bet they made 2 weeks ago. "49 seconds" she replied in a louder tone, and before Alex could get a quick word in, she hastily said out of desperation of a worthy comeback, " And if you want any of my Japanese dinner I made, then you'd better shut your mouth young man!"

That definitely made Alex shut up.

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It was approximately around an hour later, while Alex was dozing on the couch in front of the TV, when the phone rang. It was the annoying, non-stop, continuous sound of the buzzer that woke Alex up. Startled, he jumped up and instinctively reached for the 10mm that was concealed behind his back. Seeing through his haze of drowsiness, Alex quickly realized that it was actually the house phone ringing, so he reached for the headset before the answering machine went off. To his despair, he was just a second to late, so collapsing on the couch, with the phone in hand, he patiently waited for the message. 

"Mr. Rider?" said the machine, with a horribly familiar metallic voice, "you are requested immediately at Royal & Banks, scheduled for a meeting with the director of management and transactions. This is of extreme importance, so we will send you a car that will arrive in the next five minutes after this message was placed…" and with that the message ended with a quiet click, quickly sequenced with another message with the machine voice stating when the message was delivered. Alex sat there, with the phone in his hand, staring at the phone in anger and bewilderment. _'They're ordering me around again' _he furiously thought to himself. '_What do they have to say to me now? To send me on some wild monkey chase mission…'_ but before this train of thought was finished, the phone was gently removed from his hand and replaced by an apple. He looked up to meet the kind face of Jack staring down at him.

"Since I've noticed that your so hell-bent in keeping healthy these days, I don't think it's good for you to story eating a phone," she said, keeping her voice light and trying to make it a joke, "so I gave you an apple instead…" Alex looked down at the apple, keeping his face blank. Not seeing any reaction from Alex made Jack frown and worry, bending down to crouch on her knees, she lifted Alex's chin with her fingers to make him meet her eyes. "You know they really do push you too hard, and this scar…" she flicked the hair away from his face to touch the scar, brushing it oh so softly with the only mother's touch that she could offer. Standing up again she said, "You'd better come outside anyway, that car is waiting for you" The she left, leaving Alex to follow her outside.

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When Alex stepped out of the black BMW turbo, he had this strange prickling sensation on his skin, as if his instincts were warning him that someone was watching him intently. Pointing out the source, he swiveled around and quickly shot his head towards the top floor window of the Royal & Banks building and narrowed his eyes. All he saw was a flash of a face, and then it was gone, but Alex knew better than anyone, what he saw was real. Someone was watching him. While the guards were accompanying him inside the building, Alex was pondering who might've been the face. It was certainly not a face he recognized, and it was the face of a teenager, a bit like his own but slightly older yet soft, like a babies face unscarred. 

When the guard growled at him to get out the elevator, Alex shot him a glare his way and slowly stepped out the lift, knowing all too well that the guards knew that if they did take him on, they'd have another thing coming. Arriving at '_the director of management's_' office, a.k.a. Mr. Blunts office, Alex didn't bother with the polite necessities like knocking on the door and waiting for a reply, he just opened the door and waltzed right in, then sat on the nearest couch to the door, after quickly scanning the area for 'the face'. Seeing no one other than Mr. Blunt and '_the director or transactions' _a.k.a. Mrs. Jones, he leisurely turned his body towards them, looking them in the eye, and raising an eyebrow.

"Rider, I see that you have arrived safely," said Mr. Blunt after giving Alex a disdainful look. "Isn't that obvious?" Retorted Alex, snorting and looking away, ignoring two of the most powerful people in the world, who were right in front of him, "If I didn't I wouldn't be here would I?" Usually, Alex new that if anyone else talked to Mr. Blunt in this way, they would probably be dead in the next few days. But MI6 wouldn't dare do that to him, no, he was way too valuable to be disposed...yet. Mr. Blunt studied Alex without giving anything away, but Alex knew better that Mr. Blunt was just thinking of another approach, but what he didn't expect was what he said next, "Of course, well I suppose you are wondering why you were called here today..."

"No of course not..." Alex cut in exaggerating.

"...Well, we have decided, because of all _our_ world-wide_ successes_, to partner you with a newly trained MI6 operative who is 16, 2 years older than you..."

"What?!" Alex cried in disbelief, and Alex could've sworn that Mr. Blunt smiled when he saw him in despair.

"There will be no argument in this matter, for it has been already put into action, and your partner has already been trained and assessed and he is waiting for your arrival in the training facility..."

"But..."

"No buts, now please leave my office immediately, goodbye" and with that, Blunt turned around, effectively dismissing Alex already. Sighing out loud, Alex stood up, and with one last fierce look at Blunt's back, and ignoring Mrs. Jones sympathetic look, he stepped out into the hallway, not bothering to close the door on his way out. Walking towards the elevator, as Alex pushed the button, he knew at one the same person who was in the window looking at him, was staring at him again. Looking around, he could literally feel the person's uncertainty even though he was nowhere near him. Realizing the source was right above him, he looked up and at once saw a distorted reflection of himself staring back at him, reflected off a camera. Annoyed, he narrowed his eyes at the object and pressed himself flat against the wall, so that the camera and whoever was looking through it couldn't see him. At once, the camera very discreetly began to swivel around, trying to locate him. Smirking to himself, he looked up and immediately found the cable that connected the camera to the main socket power, and with a rough tug, he ripped it out of the wall, snapping the wire and disconnecting the camera, switching it off. _'That will take some time to fix' _he thought to himself while he stepped inside the elevator as it arrived.

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When Alex arrived at the training facility, he honestly didn't 'know what to expect. A considerate boy? A quite mysterious teenager? Or a Snot-nosed brat used to getting everything he wants? Immediately, even before he stepped foot on the physical training area, he was confronted by a boy 1 centimeter taller than him with such an air of arrogance, he knew _exactly_ what type of _boy_ he would be, and the boy, Alex realized after a second, was the boy that he had seen watching him form Blunts office. _'Great' _Alex thought, as he looked at the boy standing in front of him with an extremely bored look, _'I have a nosy snob for a partner...and I don't even know his name...'_

"What kind of praise you thought you would have gotten after the stunt you pulled on the camera?!" The boy said, with a tone that clearly read _'I am better than you 'kid' so get out of my way', _looking at Alex like he was some dirt on his newly polished shoes. Unknown to the boy, Alex saw out of the corner of his eye, Sen Jude, Alex's acquaintance and martial arts teacher, had stepped into the shadows quietly to watch the exchange between the two. In acknowledgment, Alex sent a discreet nod towards Jude, this was also undetected by the boy, since he was too busy trying to overpower Alex by trying, and unsuccessfully, staring him down. _'Great observation skills,'_ Alex thought sarcastically, all to aware of what the boy's intentions were. Feeling the daggers pressing on the cover bided to his skin, Alex seriously started toying with the idea of flipping out one of them and shoving it a centimeter away from the boys eye, scaring the hell out of him, but just before he could decide, the boy _finally_ began to notice that Alex wasn't taking notice to him, and because of this, he got extremely aggravated.

"Pl-_ease­_, and _you're_ _my_ partner, who's supposed to be _better_ than _me?_" scoffed the boy, rolling his eyes at Alex and looking like he was satisfied with himself. To the boy's surprise, Alex simply looked at him and noted that it seemed as if the boy was expecting Alex to retort with a comeback of some sorts. Seeing the glint in Alex's eye, Sen Jude hastily began to jump out of the shadows to stop Alex form doing anything stupid too soon. However, he was too late, but Alex didn't want to scare the boy yet, all he wanted to do was to teach the boy a lesson. So instead, he chose another approach.

"Are you going to tell me your name anytime soon, or am I going to have to refer to you in my head the _'ignorant idiot' _from now on?" Seeing the boy outraged and about to retort, he cut him out, "Or are you going to stand there like the ignorant idiot that you are and try and battle me in battle of wills like a little _kid, _because you are _obviously_ going to lose the moment you start and besides, you probably lack the intelligence to start one anyway…" And leaving at that, he shoved passed the boy, dismissing him, and bowed towards his teacher, Jude. "Master," Alex said politely, and stood up again. Nodding, Jude raised and eyebrow and switched his attention to the boy, who was shuffling towards them in a slouch. Alex saw the irritation in the man's eye before he spoke:

"Stand up straight _boy_ and walk like you're not here!" Jude said with obvious authority, his voice laced with venom. "And stop that sulking _boy, _we are in a war, and in wars, you sulk, you die!" Looking at Jude, Alex vividly remembered the first time he met the man. Jude took one look at him and thought him as worthless, and Alex didn't even do anything yet to offend him. Right before their sparring battle, Jude gave Alex an extremely long lecture about the 'war' MI6 raged with the others, and with one false move, you'd die, with no one to find you. Then Jude began to talk about the martial arts, about how it was the same, that you needed speed and intelligence, and at that time Jude didn't think Alex had either. Alex quickly sorted that problem out. All he had to do was to beat Jude in a fist-martial-fight fairly. And he did, by flying colours. Soon after that Jude respected Alex and he to him. Both were never friends, but they could rely on each other do the right thing.

For a moment, Alex felt sorry for the boy. He had offended Jude in some way, and was now unprepared for Jude's wrath. But his feeling quickly diminished when the boy looked as him with such a sneer, it made his face gruesome. The boy, after directing a sneer at Alex - which _was_ noticed by Jude - straightened up, and with an effort, put an innocent face on, hoping to get the better of Jude. It, as Alex suspected, didn't work, at all.

"Wipe that emotion of your face _boy_, and show your partner respect! He has been in this trade far longer than you, and he is obviously better suited for the job. I don't know how you were accepted but all I know now is that I need to assess your abilities against Alex's!" And switching his attention to both of them, he shot; "Now both of you go to your separate rooms and get changed into your martial gear. I expect you to report to me in 5 minutes!" So after nodding quickly to Alex, and Alex sending an appreciative smile, Jude turned around, stalked into his office, and slammed the door. After a couple of seconds, the distinct sound of something being pounded heavily on wafted into the area. Totally ignoring the boy standing next to him, or in technical terms, his _partner_, Alex swivelled around towards his door, hoping that his _partner_ would do the same. Unfortunately, he had no such luck, for the boy rushed up and stopped right in front of him, blocking his path and forcing Alex to look acknowledge him.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you Rider," Sneered the boy grabbing Alex's shoulders before being quickly shoved back roughly by Alex, "You aren't worth my time," Then walked away, towards his door. Tired, Alex's eyes followed his partners back walk the opposite way until the boy got to his door and slammed it shut. Reading the sign on the door using his good eyesight, Alex nodded and sauntered to his door, and unlike his partner, quietly shut the door behind him. _'Matthew Ballérino Victor, what am I going to do with you?' _

* * *

When Alex walked out of his room exactly 5 minutes later, he not only surprised his partner Matthew, but his teacher Jude. He was wearing a black undershirt, underneath his midnight-black martial robe, with matching martial robe trousers. Giving the impression that he was not to be messed with. But it was his belt that truly sent a _big_ message to anyone who saw him. He was a 14-year-old teenager with a jet-black belt with 29 blood red notches at the end. Accompanying it, the Chinese ancient text '_盛大丹' _meaning 'Grand Dan' Or 'Grand master' was sown into the belt in midnight blue. The 29 notches, and the colour of his martial robes represented how respected he was and his rank among the Martials. The black represented the fact that he had trained with a Master Dan in China, as well as earning the full respect from the Martial Monks in China and gaining the title, '_午夜快速'_meaning, 'Midnight Swift', a highly respected name taken out of the ancient Samurai-martial text. The ranks according to notches were, Trainee – 0, Dan – 4, 1st Dan – 12, 2nd Dan – 16, 3rd Dan – 20, Grand Dan – 24 and the last rank, which is the hardest, and the most respected rank of all, Master Dan – 30 notches or a double Red stripe all the way across the belt with two black forward slashes 4 inches from the sides. Quickly counting the notches, Jude widened his eyes. "Impressive," he stated, his mouth twitching, almost forming a smile. "One notch away? So am I to understand that one, you trained with a Master Dan and gained a title? And two, you are one notch away from being a Master Dan?" 

"That is correct master," Alex replied, almost laughing at the sight of Matthew's eyes widening in horror and disbelief, as well as the fact that he was only a 1st Dan with a White robe, meaning in the martial status, Trainee, no matter how many notches he had, if he had a white robe, it meant he was still a trainee.

Jude, noticing Matthew's disbelief, snapped, "stop staring boy, that's what you get when you train real hard and true. And Alex, can't you take of those 'cuffs?' Referring to the Titanium bided around Alex's wrist. When Alex shook his head, Jude sighed but smiled. "

Now each of you walk to the centre and begin fighting with I shout 'chi!'" And just as Jude was saying this, Alex turned his back on him and walked to the fighting circle, waiting for Matthew to join him. When Matthew arrived at the circle where Alex was waiting, he seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face permanently directed at Alex. Alex readied himself in the defensive stance at the same time Matthew readied himself into an offensive position. Smiling secretly, Alex bowed just as Jude said 'chi!' Instantly sensing Matthew attacking, Alex didn't even have to look up as his hand shot up from now-where, grabbed Matthew's leg that aiming for his neck, twisting it making Matthew cry out in shock and pain, then throwing him into the ground and putting his knee to the boys neck, slightly applying pressure so that he couldn't get up.

"First Mistake," Alex calmly said, coldly staring the boy right in the eye, "Never be in an offensive stance at the start of the fight. Second mistake, never rush your opponent _ever_ in a fight, and third mistake, never _ever_ try and strike your opponent while he is bowing because that is disrespectful as well as stupid because it makes your entire body vulnerable to an attack from anyone…" He would've continued if not for the clapping that emerged from the entrance of the stadium, as well as Jude.

"You, Alex, are much more deadlier than we first met!" said Jude, smiling, for the first time, in front of Matthew. "I hope we can fight some time soon, I would like to test myself against you!"

"Of course," Replied Alex while was gently removing his knee from Matthews's neck and standing up. "But not right now." Bowing to Jude, and he to him, Alex turned around towards the dark figure at the entrance. It was Mr. Blunt. Narrowing his eyes, Alex slowly walked up to the entrance where Blunt stood like a stone sentinel, just as Matthew was scrambling onto his feet. When Matthew finally arrived after scampering after them, Blunt and Alex were glowering at each other. At his arrival, they both fixed their faces and looked towards him. Not liking being the centre of attention anymore, Matthew began to sweat in his robes.

"Rider," Blunt said in his awfully scratchy voice, "after your training, I want you both to immediately report to my office. This is to be done within 1 hour. Goodbye." And so Blunt turned on his heel and briskly walked to the elevators, disappearing behind the doors on his was up. "Whatever," Alex said more to himself than to Blunt's disappearing figure. Seeing Matthew send him a disgusted look, Alex pivoted around, on his heel and into his room, briefly thinking to himself what Blunt wanted and what the mission was now.

And he hoped fervently that this one wouldn't almost kill him _this_ time.

Hah, fat chance

* * *

**TBC**

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_**Authors note:- **Please notify me if i have any spelling, or grammar errors. I do not mind criticism but i will not appreciate inappropriate remarks. Please review! _

_Also, for those who do not know, TBC stands for to be continued. And if any of you readers would like me to hold a poll for this story, please include the question and answers you would like to have. I will choose the best and most common one of all. Thanks!_

_Now push the Review button... XD_

_ciao_

_Samantha A.k.a. 0.0 NightRiders 0.0_


	2. Malice

**Disclaimer: -**After a particular review I received, I thought it would be a good idea to note this. Most of my Martial arts facts are correct, but I do admit for the sake of the story I had to exaggerate the notches, To be a full Master Dan, You'd have to have 9 red notches, or 4 yellow stripes at the end (and a black belt!) to represent that BUT it depends where you **gained** the rank. The colours of the robe are true. And so are the 5 Ranks, just the notches are exaggerated, if you want me to change that, then please state that in your review and if I get enough requests, ill keep it in mind to change it. Thank you for bearing with me, my reviewers! P.S. To be a full Master Dan at the age of 14, you would have to start at the age of two, me myself, I'm a First (almost Second) Dan, but I definitely didn't start at the age of two!! And I am not 20 yet, there's a hint to my age for those who are wondering! And I didn't put my age on my profile for a reason, so mwah! AND (F)ARAH – Techie24 -, IF YOU ARE READING THIS DO NOT SAY ANYTHING! XD

**BTW: -**** Because of Matthew's nationality (and I just realized I so stupidly forgot to add a description of Matthew to Chapter 1, sorry!) His name, Matthew Ballérino Vîctor, is pronounced – (MATT-TEE-YEW) (BA-LAY-REE-**_**NO**_**) (VEEK-**_**TOR)**_

**Note that 'Matthew' Is ****NOT**** pronounced – (MATT–THEE–YOU) like the English way.**

**(Bold + Underlined + italicized means strong pronunciation)**

**(Bold means say it as you see it)**

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

**Polls!**

Because of a few reviews, I am now hosting a poll! I hope it's successful XD. Some of the poll reviews didn't specify what they thought would be good, so I've made one myself

Poll question: - _**Do you want Alex and/or Matthew to meet a girl:**_

**During the story and like her?**

**Who is involved with the mission they were assigned to?**

**And be thrown into a love triangle and cause mayhem?**

**Or not meet the girl at all?**

**Your choice!**

PLACE YOUR ANSWER CLEARLY IN REVIEW!

_(Clue__ to story__, the girl does __**NOT**__ include Sabrina)_

**Thanks!**

Ciao 

_**Happy Reading & **__**Reviewing! **__****__**XD**_

* * *

**Wow…that was a **_**long**_** disclaimer…**

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Chapter 2 Malice 

As Alex stood back outside Blunt's office, back in his normal clothes and feeling the familiar feel or the weapons pressing against his skin, who apparently seemed to be _politely _waiting for his partner Matthew to show his scrawny face, he had a strange feeling come over him. The same strange feeling he got when he arrived at school the morning. _Something bad is going to happen and soon._ As soon as he was mulling over his thoughts, just on the edge of his vision, Matthew's body appeared, and for the first time Alex looked at him, _really_ looked at him. He drank in his partner's appearance like a sponge and stored it into his brain for later use.

After a little while, Alex found out, much to Matthew's dismay, by reading his file given to him by Jude just after combat training, that he was actually half French and half German. His mother was French nurse, and his father was German mercenary. The two met in a hospital when Matthew's mother, _Hèlda Ballérino Daàd, _was the nurse treating Matthew's father, _Aldo Van Victor_, who had a gunshot wound to the chest. They had Matthew 2 years later on August 16 1991. Matthew's family was a large one, also rich because of Aldo's success in the war. They moved to England in 1997 hoping for some peace in quiet away from the civil war that was happening in Germany, that wish was granted at once. Matthew had 3 sisters, and 2 bothers. Being the eldest, he was supposed to be the smartest and the one they could count on all the time.

No wonder he was such an outright snob sometimes.

When Matthew was 9, his parents, and 2 of his sisters were murdered, right in front of his eyes. Their family was happily lounging in the living room when 3-armed men appeared at their door in casual clothes. They were armed with AKA-47's and before his family could react over their shock, the men lifted their guns and let out a spray of bullets at his parents. His sisters were caught in the crossfire. Fortunately for Matthew, Aldo seemed to expect the attack, and so it was declared, in his will that he wrote 4 days before the attack, that Matthew was to gain the land, house and money stored as a trust fund in the bank when he was 16. His 4 brothers and his sisters, or _sister_, were to have each 3 million Euros.

Matthew was now 16, and to his delight, he gained the land almost immediately. That was when MI6 got involved. Apparently, according to a _reliable_ source, Matthew's dad, Aldo, was a mercenary warlord who sold high-powered guns after his retirement, that was why they were so rich, and at the consent of his sister and 2 of his brothers, MI6 stormed a plot of land that Aldo owned but did not give to Matthew.

They found nothing but dust. Outraged, and humiliated, MI6 secretly watched, analyzed and researched Matthew for 3 months. But that was until Matthew found out that the other 2 of his brothers were involved in selling drugs and money laundering. Betrayed, Matthew sought MI6 out, presented his proposal that if they helped him, he would help them. Of course, MI6 accepted almost immediately, it was like Christmas had come early for them. They trained him for 2 months, but Matthew _never_ got to go on any missions, due do his lack of experience and importance to their investigations on his family, and Blunt just had to come up with the _clever_ idea of partnering Matthew up with their '_best success and agent'_ Rider. Upon hearing this, Matthew trained harder to beat this 'Rider' and become the best instead, and he was so sure he had accomplished that, until Alex came.

Alex guessed that Matthew hadn't expected him to be like he was, well not as deadly and tempered. He guessed that Matthew had been expecting someone who was good, but not damn right excellent, someone who was _just_ above average, but overly praised because he was the only child in MI6. What Matthew _didn't_ expect _at all_ was someone who could kill in a heartbeat, and someone who could kick his ass to Tim-buck-two.

Assessing Matthew's looks, Alex smirked. Matthew had wavy brown hair that was neatly trimmed to his ears, its sides slightly grazing over his high, angled cheekbones. He had a squared, dimpled jaw, golden-flecked hazel eyes, and a splash over freckles that covered the top of his cheeks and his angular small nose, which was now broken because due to Alex _accidentally_ ramming his elbow into his face, just after Matthew tripped Alex up in combat training.

Boy, was that a mess to clear up.

Matthew had small ears, and a slightly oval face. He was 6ft"1, ½ a centimeter taller than Alex, and unlike Alex, he used his height as an advantage to easily intimidate those who were smaller. That definitely didn't work on Alex. Matthew was extremely thin for his age, because of his fast metabolism, and because of this, it was extremely hard for him to gain any intimidating muscles like Alex, so he had none at all. Matthew has long legs, built for running, and long arms and fingers build for swimming and lifting. Matthew was strong, Alex had to admit, but he wasn't quick.

When Matthew smiled, just by looking at his face, Alex knew exactly what type of smile it was. When it was a true smile, 2 dimples would appear, one on each cheek, and his eyes would flash with a green hue. When it was a smirk, the dimples would appear again, but instead of a green hue, 2 frown lines would just appear below the hairline on his forehead. And when Matthew fake-smiled, the dimples would appear, but nothing else would happen to his face, like a stone statue. So far, the only time Alex had seen Matthew truly smile in the presence anywhere _near_ him was when Jude praised him for clipping Alex's ear during a fight.

Alex knew he only did that to make Matthew stop moaning.

But when Alex finished assessing Matthew, he frowned. It was not because of the fact that he was thinking of Matthew, and all thoughts of Matthew are bad. It was because of the fact that this thought of Matthew was particularly worrying. Something wasn't quite right about him. It was something to do with his movements. He movements were just too…_sluggish_, and his reflexes were just too…_slow_. There was something missing, something to give the boy the extra 'oomph' to be even close to a reasonably average spy. Alex knew because as far as he knew, his entire generation, and the 3 before that, of his family were all spies, and he knew Matthew was missing that vital piece to the puzzle that may save his life during a mission. That's if he survives this one though.

Alex learned all of this within 40 minutes, and for a moment, Alex felt sorry for the boy. After all, he had never seen his father and uncle die with his own eyes. He just had to extract the truth form others, almost get crushed by a crane, and then very nearly get killed by terrorist organizations. The only reason why he was still alive was because of ½ a centimeter. _Shocker_.

When Alex finally realized that he was staring at the boy, it was too late to stop Matthew from smacking him around the head. "My looks too godly for your eyes?" he sneered, snickering at Alex's raised eyebrow. Alex looked Matthew in the eyes, '_looking through the window to his soul'_. Slightly anxious, Matthew turned away from him looked at the nearest bench and sat down, sighing rather loudly. '_He's someone who doesn't like to be on his feet…'_ Alex noted to himself. He had a hunch that in the next few minutes Matthew would start fidgeting. It wasn't even a minute before Matthew began to whistle to himself. Then when a full minute passed Matthew sighed loudly again. _'He's restless and impatient…'_ Alex noted again, smirking at Matthew's slumped figure. Just when Alex was sure Matthew was going to jump up and scream 'this is so boring!' Blunt's secretary buzzed them in saying 'Mr. Blunt will see you now'. Alex, pushing himself off the grey, dull wall from which he was leaning on, walked confidently to Blunt's office and let himself in. About a second later, Matthew rushed in, almost knocking over Alex in his eager haste to receive his mission. Alex, on the subject of the mission, really didn't care, he was in fact, a little more apprehensive or receiving it, afraid of the fact that this one would get an innocent killed, instead of wondering whether or not it would get _him_ killed. Matthew, Alex guessed, was probably thinking along the lines of _'oh wow, my first mission, now I get to prove myself!' _The distinct smell of peppermint broke through Alex's thoughts, interrupting them. He looked up to see Mrs. Jones standing by Mr. Blunt, cringing at the acrid smell, Alex turned away and thought, '_Does she live in this office or something? And what is with the peppermint already!'_ Taking a step back, Alex braved to look back and smell the disgusting smell of peppermint emanating from Mrs. Jones.

"_Rider_, Vîctor, sit down," Blunt said to both of them, although he did slightly stress Alex's last name. Matthew didn't notice, but Mrs. Jones and Alex did. Alex raised an eyebrow, but Mrs. Jones Simply flicked her eyes in concern towards Blunt for a brief second, and then looked away. Matthew of course, upon hearing the command, shot straight from the door to the office seat in front of Blunt's desk, and Alex could've sworn that he saw a flicker or satisfaction in Blunt's face before it was gone.

"I'd rather stand," Alex retorted, in a slightly rude manner. Unfazed, Blunt replied, "I _said_ sit down." Alex slightly annoyed with the fact that Blunt thought he could kick Alex around any time he chose, Alex stubbornly refused. "And what ever happened to _please?_ Since I _thought_ that such and _educated gentlemen_ such as yourself would have the _vocabulary_ to say it? No? Well, that's disappointing…" Seeing the amused face of Mrs. Jones, and the absolute horror struck face of his partner Matthew, Alex had to stop before he's burst out laughing. Blunt, showing a little emotion of irritation sighed, "_Fine, Rider_ may you sit down…"And after thinking about it he added, "_Please" _Alex was sorely tempted to say no again, but Mrs. Jones slightly shook her head and nodded towards Blunts figure. Satisfied, Alex sat down much to Blunts relief, and so the irritation disappeared from his face. Alex made himself comfortable, and both he and Matthew waited in silence, Matthew who was incredibly eager to receive his first mission, was leaning forward slightly, emphasizing his excitement a tenth fold, as if to catch onto every word that came out of Mrs. Jones and Blunt's mouth.

"This mission we are about to give you," Mrs. Jones said, after a relatively long enough silence, "Is a mission, that is not really a mission…" seeing Matthew's face fall in disappointment, both Alex and Blunt raised and eyebrow, blunt continuing to observe Matthew's reactions, but letting Mrs. Jones continue, "…it's more like a test, an evaluation test. In fact Alex, this test doesn't even apply to you because…"

"Because I've already done it?" Alex finished for her, smirking at Matthew's face change from eager, to disappointed, to self satisfied, and then finally to out right glare directed his way, while very acutely remembering the flag pole incident where Alex tried, and succeeded, to get into his dead uncle's office, totally unaware that a camera from the parallel hallway was watching his progress the entire time. If fact, Mrs. Jones even called him mad, and now that he thought about it, Alex was pretty sure that is was the same camera he disconnected today. Smiling at the memory, Alex returned his thoughts back to the conversation that was relaying itself before him.

"Vîctor," Blunt said, making Matthew slightly blanch because he had pronounced his name horribly wrong, "your evaluation test is simply this. We are going to have you transferred to Rider's school, and as quickly as possible, you have to make friends, and not, I repeat _not_ tell you _friends_ your position here in MI6 and absolutely _not_ cause a scene. Is that easy enough?" Matthew smiled, smiled a fake smile.

"Oh, of _course_," he said with a sickly sweet tone, "why, it's _child's play…"_Matthew said the sentence like it was some sort of garbage can coming out of his mouth, his face was twisted with disappointment and disgust. Spotting this, Blunt turned to Mrs. Jones and she to him, as if starting an invisible conversation with their eyes. At what seemed to be the end of the conversation, Blunt nodded and had a meaningful look in his eye, one that Alex couldn't read, but Mrs. Jones frowned and looked concerned, slightly shaking her head. Alex, noticing the exchange, also frowned, and noted to himself to remember the looks they gave each other for later use. Turning their attention back to Matthew and Alex, Blunt's gaze flicked over Alex quickly, his eyes again showing no emotion, before looking away and resting his eyes on Matthew.

"Rider," Blunt said, not taking his gaze off Matthew, "you may wait for Vîctor downstairs, you are no longer needed here" Unfazed, Alex nodded, stood up, and walked out the door, surprising Both Matthew and Blunt. Mrs. Jones didn't seem to notice, because apparently she was too bust staring into space thinking hard about something. Outside, Alex didn't think that it was worth it eavesdropping on the conversation that was about to take place in Blunt's office, between Blunt, Matthew and Mrs. Jones. If they wanted to evaluate Matthew, let them, if they wanted to test him on his own, let them, but if they wanted to test Matthew _against_ Alex, let them, Alex didn't want to eavesdrop, because he would know what to expect, and that would be cheating. Alex didn't like to cheat, and right now, he wanted to test himself.

As Alex walked into the elevator and pressed '_G'_, he had absolutely no idea how close he was to guessing the real subject of that conversation…

* * *

A wave of pure satisfaction swept over Matthew as he watched Rider leave Mr. Blunt's office. Gingerly, Matthew touched his broken nose in memory of the incident during combat practice, and honestly when he tripped him up, he didn't think Rider would be so ruthless. While he was frowning at Rider's retreating figure, and touching his nose, thinking that he had finally out done the notorious Alex Rider, Matthew didn't realize that beside him, Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones were staring at him. The 2 MI6 heads both thinking the same thing, _'is he really good enough?'_ But even they knew that only a handful of people could out-do Alex Rider when it comes to his best talent: Spying. 

When Matthew pushed all his thoughts away form Rider and turned towards Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, he was quite surprised. Yes, he respected Mr. Blunt, so unlike Rider, but he wasn't used to seeing emotion on the man's face. Mr. Blunt was staring at Matthew with a face of irritation and confusion, but seeing Matthew looking, he quickly fixed his face. Looking towards Mrs. Jones, seeking comfort and reassurance, but instead, he got neither. Mrs. Jones' face was that of a look that was not her own her face was that of Mr. Blunts, blank, cold and emotionless. Nervously, Matthew began to unconsciously flick his eyes back and forth between the pair. Noticing this, Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones shared a look before both resting their gaze on him. For a split second, Matthew wondered whether or not Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones were involved, but that thought was quickly forgotten when Mr. Blunt looked like he was ready to speak. All of that eagerness that was lying patiently in wait was back again, at full force.

"Vîctor," Mr. Blunt began, licking his lips in anxiety, Matthew leaned forward, and "your evaluation is the school, however, your test is Rider." The confused feelings Matthew was feeling must've shown on his face and said it all, so Mr. Blunt continued, "We, _I_, would like you to infiltrate Rider's house, access his room, and gain any, _useful_ information about his personal life." When Mr. Blunt said this last sentence his gaze seemed to flick towards his office door, but whatever he thought he must've seen there wasn't there, so he relaxed and switched his gaze back to the perplexed face of Matthew.

"Why?" Matthew dared to ask, genuinely interested, after all, its not every day that you get to work for MI6 and get permission to raid their best operative's, as well as your most hated rival, house.

"That's classified and on a need to know basis," Mr. Blunt snapped, almost scaring the pants off Matthew, "and you don't need to know the reason, you need to do it, understand?" Hastily, Matthew nodded his head, keen to prove himself better than Rider, satisfied, Mr. Blunt handed Matthew an _extremely_ large file. "That is Rider's file," Mr. Blunt stated, as if to answer Matthew's silent question. "His entire life is in that file. You lose it you die. I want you to revise, and summarize that file by 06:00 hours tomorrow morning…."

"In _6ix hours?"_ Matthew screeched incredulously, after quickly checking his watch. "How am going to be able to do all of this," Gesturing to the large file in his hands, "In _six hours?_ What, has he lived for hundreds of years or something?" Slightly irritated, Mr. Blunt sighed, "We have given you all you need to complete this mission…" but before Mr. Blunt could finish, Mrs. Jones quickly cut in, "in fact, I think Alex had even _less_ things than this, I don't remember giving him anything at _all_…"

"All right I'll do it!" Matthew cried jumping up from his seat on the couch, slightly wincing how cramped his legs were. He was dismayed that Alex got less than he did and _still_ passed the test, with _no_ MI6 training! "You'll have this file on you desk by tomorrow morning." Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones looked extremely self-satisfied. "You may go" Mr. Blunt said, nodding his head in dismissal. Turning on his heel with one last look at the pair, Matthew brusquely walked towards the door, opened it, and then without a thought, closed the door behind him, thinking about Rider and his _'mission'_ as he descended in the lift towards his partner.

Meanwhile, unknown to the two teenagers, back in the office, Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones were currently joined in a very heated discussion, "we shouldn't use Alex as bait like that!" Mrs. Jones said, taking out a peppermint and sucking on it lightly, "it's not right!"

"Everything we do with him isn't right!" Mr. Blunt replied with equal fervor, "but think about it, if this boy succeeds, we will have an operative that is better than Rider, who is obedient to all of us, as well as black mail Rider if we need to use him…

"The only reason Alex is insolent is because of that!" Mrs. Jones screeched, "you use him, he saves the world, he wants something in return, and instead _you_ use him again!" Shocked at his partner's words Mr. Blunt shook his head. "This conversation is over. We have nothing to talk about, leave." Glaring, Mrs. Jones turned her back and just before she walked out the door, she stopped. "And besides, you and I both know that boy will never be better than Alex, no matter how good he seems to be, he'll never be better…" she sneered over shoulder, and proceeded to walk out the door, leaving blunt with a look of regret no one had ever seen on his face, not even _her…_.

* * *

When Alex saw Matthew _finally _step out of the elevator after his _'meeting'_ with Blunt and Mrs. Jones, he seemed really deep in thought. His forehead was creased and he was studying a thick file that was in his hands, so closely, that he almost smacked right into Alex. At the last second, Matthew looked up saw Alex, skidded to a halt, and snapped the file shut with a loud _'BANG_'. Arching an eyebrow, Alex quizzically looked pointedly at the file, but dismissed it with an approving nod. Taken aback, Matthew widened his eyes in disbelief, but really looked more relieved than ever. 

"You have to learn how to cover your emotions," Alex said softly, not out of spite, but so that when and if they were on an important mission, he wouldn't screw it and get them both killed. Seeing Matthew about to angrily retort, Alex put his hand up to stop him. "Look," Alex said as calmly as possible, looking Matthew in the eye and allowing the boy to read him for a split second, that's _if _the boy could read him. "I'm just trying to help, for both our sakes. I don't want to baby-sit you through all of the missions we will be put on, and your blood on my hands," and after a thought, Alex reverted back to his resentful ways, "because let's face it, we are going to be partners, and if you don't fix up your act soon, you are going to get us both killed, and I really would like to live a few more years in my life." And so, leaving it at that, Alex swiveled on his heel, exiting the area and leaving Matthew with his mouth wide open like a gaping fish, in shock at the sudden attitude change towards him.

When Alex walked to the tube station, alone, he felt slightly depressed. He could never trust anyone, not even his best friend tom, and Sabrina wasn't even here to keep him from going mental. She was his anchor, and now she was gone. Now, he had an annoying little obnoxious snob for a partner, who is going to the same school as him, who has the habit of trying to make his life, which is already unbearable enough as it is, hell. Silently, Alex raged inside, blaming blunt for all his problems and driving away Sabrina, blaming Mrs. Jones for helping and not stopping blunt from making his life miserable, and finally, blaming Matthew for being such an arrogant ass. Just as that thought settled into his brain, Matthew had the nerve to show his face, enraging Alex to his limit. If Matthew said something wrong now, then all those emotions Alex had bottled up inside him would explode and be directed right at Matthew. Looking up, Matthew gulped in fear, seeing Alex's silent rage.

"Uh…uh…uh," He stuttered, making Alex's eye twitch in irritation. "C…c…c…can I come h…home and s…s…stay w…with you? B…b…b…because I have no where else t…t…to stay…" He asked, surprising, but not cooling Alex down.

"Y_es,_" Alex said through his clenched teeth. It looked like Matthew wanted to say more, but fortunately for him, decided against it. Looking at the boy, feeling slightly pitiful, Alex grunted, secretly wishing for the day to end.

* * *

At 18:00, 6 o'clock in the afternoon, Alex and Matthew had arrived, form a long ride, and walk from the tube, to Alex's front doorstep. By then, Alex had cooled down and was now wearing the usual mask of intimidating calmness Alex had adapted to recently. Neither Matthew nor Alex had spoken a word to each other since entering the tube, and both were content on keeping that way. Alex knew the key to partnerships and teamwork was communication, but his pride came in the way, so he let it lie. That was until Jack opened the door looking absolutely unusually miserable and exhausted. The Jack, who is normally happy and chipper, and Alex the miserable one, was usually trying to cheer Alex up with her jokes. Seeing this, Alex's mask slightly slipped, and his face was laced with concern and suspicion. Matthew, who had finally looked up from the file he was reading, had a mild look of surprise and thoughtfulness, added with a glint to his eye whilst looking at Jack's face. Jack, as if sensing Alex's feelings tried, and failed, to give Alex a half-hearted smile, so instead, she opted for raising her hand and smacking Alex on the head. Hard. 

"Stop being such a twerp," She scolded, "And stop being so suspicious all the time!" Switching her attention to Matthew, who was beside him, Jack immediately perked up, making Alex slightly sad. "Oh? A visitor?" she asked with a slightly disbelieving tone that was undetected by Matthew, who was still staring at her.

"He's my new _partner,_ Matthew,_" _Alex said, spitting each world out like it was poison. "And he needs a place to stay." Alex rolled his eyes with disdain for the boy, sudden bitterness, that even surprised Alex himself, rose up from no where and engulfing Alex. His stance clearly stating, _'I do not like him and I do not want him to be here.' _Jack, who read it in his voice, clearly reading what was in between the lines, slightly frowned at Alex's behavior. Against her better judgment, Jack opened the door wider, allowing them access into the house, studying Matthew closely as he walked passed her. Closing the door after them, Jack brushed passed Matthew to get to the kitchen, interrupting whatever train of thought he was having. Matthew directed a scowl at Jack's back, but quickly stopped when he saw that Alex had caught him and was sending him a lethal death glare.

When Jack called them in to both to have a snack in the kitchen, Alex didn't even bother with household manners like asking Matthew what he would like to eat. He just walked right into the kitchen, grabbed an orange juice carton, a class, a plate, and some bread, and then he exited the area, quickly, and briskly he trudged up the stairs towards his room for some piece and quiet.

Alex thought about today's recent events, about Matthew being so engrossed in the hugely, sickening-to-look-at, file. About the looks that Blunt and Mrs. Jones shared before kicking him out the office. Something was going on, and he just knew it had something to do with both he and Matthew, and Alex was pretty sure that Matthew was already involved and knew exactly what was happening, judging by that file he carried around with him all the time, and that definitely wasn't related to the school evaluation! Alex fought with all his might not to even glance in the direction of the file. Matthew should've known better than to walk around with some huge MI6 file in the open. If Alex wanted to know what he was doing, he would've already found out.

Alex was startles out of his reverie of thought when a knock on the door sounded like a bullet in the night. Sitting up from his lounging stance on the bed, Alex was just about to get up to open the door when to his surprise, and relief that is wasn't Matthew come to irritate the hell out of him, Jack opened the door, stepped in, and closed it quietly behind her. Confused, Alex just looked at her, Jack looked worried and sad as she was looking at Alex's figure and face with an introspective look.

"What happened to you?" she suddenly said, startling Alex with the abruptness of the question. "What changed?" Smiling at the irony that now _both_ his closest friends thought something was wrong with him, Alex just tilted his head sideways in a silent question. "You never used to be like this Alex, even after your missions…"

"What's changed?" Alex drawled cutting in, even though he knew exactly what was coming his way the moment he saw Jack's face grow hot with anger.

"What's changed?" she said, barely keeping in the anger out of her voice, "I'll tell you what's _changed_ Rider, you dress in black! You never crack jokes! Hell I don't even thing you _TALK_ let alone laugh at one! You're solitary, and you carry so many weapons around with you, am surprised you can even lift up your own weight! It's like every time I'm with you, you're like a _freaking_ ticking bomb! About to blow up right in my face! What do you think this is Alex? This is not a James bond movie, and you aren't some '_good hearted assassin_' where the good guys always win, this is you _LIFE!" _Jack screamed, her voice getting louder and louder with every word she spoke, making Alex cringe at he now growing high-pitched voice that was definitely pounding through the house, slightly twitching his hands when she mentioned the weapons. Alex already knew that Matthew was listening to the conversation from downstairs intently. "Something changed in you Alex," Jack said, realizing how loud her voice was, and to Alex's relief, lowered it down. "What happened in your last mission to make you change?"

"My intellect and logic," Alex said quietly, making Jack have to lean in and listen hard to catch the words. He stood up and walked a few short steps to the window beside his bad, turning his back, although not rudely, to his closest friend, and looked wistfully out the window.

"That doesn't answer my question," Jack replied, taking a step forward, totally not seeing that the light outside the door had flickered for a few short moment because a shadow of someone's figure had passed over it. Alex hadn't seen, but he would have heard the person's movement, if not for Jack's question making him think.

"I know," Alex sighed, "I…I know." Turning around, Jack saw Alex's pain filled eyes look at her pleadingly before they looked away. "When I was at Scorpia, when they were training me to become an assassin for them, one of their training techniques was to make me shoot pictures of real people from far away, and make me learn how to mask my emotions and bottle them up." He began, ignoring Jack's gasp when he told her about the 'shooting pictures' event, "I guess that was the beginning of it. Then my friends at school started all these rumors about me being a druggie, they even pulled Tom into it, but I could handle that as well, after all, it's just school, and Sabrina left! When MI6 blackmailed me to do what they want, I was used to it, so I could also handle that, but I kept everything inside me," Alex started pacing around, in quick, short steps. Stopping he looked at Jack and smiled sardonically, his eyes blazing with pure fury, "But then I got into trouble, really, really big trouble where Smithers gadgets could help me and I was going to die if I didn't get out of it. And what does MI6 do? They discard me like a piece of trash! After all that work, saving the world, with no thanks, and I don't even get paid, not that I'm asking for it, they think I'm worthless, but stupid enough to let them use me again. To get out of trouble on my own…I almost killed myself…." Gulping painfully, Alex looked down at his feet, with a sad, defeated look he continued, "Then at Arc Angel, when I was inside the building in space a man tried to kill me. So I had to kill him with a shard of glass and a bullet to the head. I know you're going to say _'it's ok, it was only self defense'_ but that's just it! It _wasn't_! I killed him while he was on the floor, bruised and blooded, with his blood all over my hands, I smashed open the glass and let him be sucked through it, taking him into oblivion. That made me snap Jack! I changed because of it! I changed so I could live with out dying inside! I've finally seen the light, my life will _never_ be normal again. Even if I quit MI6, my life and I will never _ever_ be the same again…." Collapsing with exhaustion from the long emotional talk and confession, Alex put his head in his hands. He could hardly feel, let alone hear, Jack's comforting hands and words trying to console him. He was already on a different world a different planet. He was surrounded, by emotions that he had bottled up for so long, drowning him whole. In his head he couldn't think, and he was too numb outside to heed the comfort Jack gave. Out of desperation, Alex frantically searched his mind for something familiar, something he knew wouldn't hurt him, and just as he was about to give up it was there, shining like a beacon or hope for him, yet just a flicker among the rushing emotions. He tried to reach it, but the bonds of the emotions held him back. He could see the emotion dying with each second that past. With a silent roar or rage, Alex cut loose his ties, jumped through the pools of unwanted emotions, and grasped his trophy. Taking hold of it, Alex let the emotion engulf him, taking comfort in it, bathing him in it's light. The emotion overrode all the other unwanted, and unfamiliar emotions with such force it surprised Alex himself. Inside Alex felt its power grow and take hold of his feeling and reasons, twisting them into something else, something dangerous. It took hold of his morals, and destroyed them. He feelings were now the emotion that was taking hold of movements and mind.

The emotion was malice, fury, and pain,

And the emotion destroyed the old Alex rider. The Alex that used a mask of quiet calmness to mask what was inside and hide his weak spots, the Alex that used to laugh with his friends and crack jokes, the Alex that challenged and reasoned everything he knew, using his morals so aid him…the Alex who was human. Instead, it replaced him with something else, something different, something that was the complete opposite of the old Alex rider, something Lethal. This new Rider did not use reasons and morals to live his life, this Alex did not blindly give into blackmail and follow commands at every turn. This Alex rider was fatal.

This Alex Rider was a killing machine.

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_**Author's Note: -**__ Hi all! I hope you readers are still with me! See I TOLD you that this story had nothing to do with Sub Zero, thought I still recommend reading Amatai's stories, their awesome, though most of them or on temporary hiatus. This is __**IMPORTANT: - **__I may not be able to update in the next couple of weeks or so (less than 2 months I can assure you!) Because I have really large mid-year exams, (sucks right?) So I have to study really hard. Can't blame me can you? But I wont stop writing the story! But it may take sometime for me to update! Sorry all readers and reviewers that are looking forward to my next chapter, I am too! (Well in writing it)_

**_RECENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: - _**

**_Q: - _Will Wolf, and the K-unit be in this story?**

**A: - Im not quite sure yet, im pretty sure the K-unit will make an appearance, but as i progress, i may decide to make them a part of the story, if you want them in the story, please be sure to include that in your review.**

**WARNING: - Alex in the later chapters will not be the Alex we all know. He will be completely out of character, BUT, in the later chapters, Alex will return back to his old self due to the certain appearance of a certain someone doing certain things to change him. Hope this helps and PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. **

_Thanks all+ My reviewers_

_Ciao_

_Samantha a.k.a. 0.0 Nightriders 0.0_

_**Now push that review button**__****__**XD**_


	3. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Questions and answers

**Author's Note:**

Hello guys =] I know, holy crap, I'm alive – it's a miracle! Mmm, I know it's been a very long time, and I do apologise, but really I have no other excuse than I just lost my muse to this story. However, I was sifting through my book case again, a trip down memory lane I guess haha =] and I found the old book I used to write in for my Alex Rider story. Yeah, this one.

It brought back my muse.

Only for a moment perhaps, you never know, but I am contemplating over the summer whether to revamp and continue writing this story =] You must be aware though, it has been a very long time for me. I stopped writing, and my writing style may have changed – would you still like me to continue this story if it's a possibility? Do keep in mind, as i haven't had anything to do with Alex Rider for quite some time, my knowledge of the characters is spiffy, and off. I may have to re acquaintance myself with the characters.

I leave it up to my readers.

Thank you all for sticking by me even though it's been years, im sorry for the disappointment, but I thought it may be nice for you all to know.

Leave me a review for your answer, and feel free to rant at me and post suggestions as well =]

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Oh, and I may continue updating this one authors note continuously instead of posting a new one.

If I do continue this story, this author's note will be deleted and replaced with the real chapter 3 – or would you prefer me to leave this up as well?

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_Remember in the review to answer these questions:_

**Do you want me to continue this story?**

**Do you want me to revamp this?**

**Do you want me to replace this author's note with the real chapter 3 if it continues?**

**And leave suggestions and your thoughts! =]**

Take care you all

Sam xx


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